Making and Keeping Friends
Children discuss the qualities of a good friend and learn how to treat others with respect and kindness.
TL;DR:Making and keeping friends is a vital social skill for 1st Class students as they navigate more complex playground interactions. This topic focuses on the qualities of a good friend, such as kindness, sharing, and listening, and how to resolve small conflicts. It aligns with the NCCA SPHE strand 'Myself and Others,' specifically 'My friends and other people.'
About This Topic
Making and keeping friends is a vital social skill for 1st Class students as they navigate more complex playground interactions. This topic focuses on the qualities of a good friend, such as kindness, sharing, and listening, and how to resolve small conflicts. It aligns with the NCCA SPHE strand 'Myself and Others,' specifically 'My friends and other people.'
By explicitly teaching these skills, we help children create a more inclusive and supportive classroom environment. This topic is particularly well-suited to active learning because friendship is an inherently social experience. Students grasp these concepts best through role plays and collaborative problem-solving where they can practice social scripts in a safe setting.
Key Questions
- What makes a good friend?
- How can I be kind to my classmates?
- What should I do if a friend is sad?
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionFriends must agree on everything all the time.
What to Teach Instead
Children often think a disagreement means a friendship is over. Use role play to show that friends can have different opinions and still be kind to one another.
Common MisconceptionYou can only have one 'best' friend.
What to Teach Instead
Young children can be very possessive. Active grouping strategies in class help them see the value of having many different friends for different activities.
Active Learning Ideas
See all activities→Role Play
The Friendship Fixers
Give students a scenario where a friend is left out or a toy is taken. In pairs, students act out a 'kind' way to solve the problem and a 'unkind' way, then discuss how each made the characters feel.
Inquiry Circle
The Friendship Recipe
In small groups, students 'cook up' a friendship by choosing 'ingredients' (e.g., 2 cups of kindness, a spoonful of sharing). They present their recipe to the class, explaining why each ingredient is important.
Think-Pair-Share
What Makes a Friend?
Children think of one thing a friend did that made them happy. They share with a partner and then the class creates a 'Friendship Tree' where each leaf has a positive friendship quality written on it.